


always almost there

by amadeusofnohr



Series: FE Rarepair Week 2018 [5]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous Relationship, Askr Verse, But a happy ending!, Childhood Friends, F/F, Faye-centric, Flashbacks, Light Angst, Pre-Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-20 23:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15544089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amadeusofnohr/pseuds/amadeusofnohr
Summary: After Alm and the rest of her friends leave to join the Deliverance, Faye finds herself alone in Ram Village, at least until she's summoned into a strange new world, enlisted in aiding Askr's Order of Heroes in combat. Feeling out of step and out of place, she reflects on her childhood with Celica, alone in this new world, too.(For FE Rarepair Week, Day 5: treasure)





	always almost there

There’s a flash of light, and Faye opens her eyes. She doesn’t remember closing them, let alone crawling into her bed to sleep, and she can’t recall what she was doing before that. She tries to roll out of bed, and instead ends up jerking forward, stumbling, through air, almost falling flat on her face. Luckily, someone catches her.

“Careful! Just calm down, I’ll explain everything.” The voice is unfamiliar, and Faye finally begins to process her surroundings, eyes adjusting to her surroundings. There’s crumbling rock everywhere, and she’s standing on some kind of altar, in front of what looks like a giant tombstone. The stranger who caught her is wearing a long white coat with yellow decal, face obscured by their hood.

“Where am I?” Faye asks, trying not to panic, wriggling frantically in the stranger’s hold. She’s supposed to still be in Ram Village, supposed to- and then she remembers. She’s the only one of her group of childhood friends left in the village now. What would she be doing right now, even if she was there? Nothing important. She deflates, going limp in the stranger’s grip.

“There, there. Now, this is a bit of a confusing time, but, well, you’re in a place called Askr. My name is Kiran.” And then Kiran goes on to explain that she’s in a different world, pulled here by some kind of ancient ritual. If she’s willing, she’s to be a member of their “Order of Heroes,” and can aid Askr in their fight against an evil enemy kingdom. She thinks it’s funny, in a sad way. She’s the least heroic of anyone from Ram Village.

Kiran presses a bow into her hands.

“You can use one, right?” Faye nods, not sure if she wants to ask how Kiran knows that. “Well, I’ll have Sharena show you to the barracks then. We might need to use your skills soon, so stay on your toes, alright?”

Sharena is apparently the princess of Askr, full of energy. Her eyes are full of stars, looking at Faye like she’s something special.

“So, what’s your world like? What did you do there? Were you in a war, too? Oh, Zofia, that’s where Delthea’s from! She says it’s boring and lame, children, am I right?” Sharena chatters on and on, and the most Faye can manage is a weak smile. She twists the flower bracelet on her wrist around and around and around.

The barracks are full of strange people, all also from different worlds. It’s overwhelming, and she’s relieved that Kiran doesn’t ask her to do any fighting just yet. Everything is far too bizarre for her to be able to focus, and she hasn’t actually wielded a bow properly in years. She’d preferred the sword.

Four other people like her, “Heroes,” as Kiran called them, do get summoned to combat. They’re all wearing bulky armor, wielding impressive looking axes bigger than Faye’s head, and one has a lance longer than she is tall. Why the magic of this world decided she would be of any use here is anybody’s guess.

That night, in an uncomfortable bunk bed in an unfamiliar place, staring up at the bland grey ceiling, she can’t help but wish she had decided to accompany Alm after all. She could’ve at least carried supplies for the Deliverance or something.

The soldier turning up at the gate had had her stomach churning, memories brewing of the last time soldiers had run amok of Ram Village. But this one was on their side, supposedly.

Alm had seemed enthralled by him, and when he returned from Sir Mycen’s house without the old man, she knew what was coming next. He had always been far too hardheaded and selfless.

“Gray, Tobin, Kliff, and I are all going.” He had said, earnestly, eyes blazing. “I don’t think it’ll be easy. But it’s a worthy cause. We can help make a change.”

She bit her lip, eyes cast downward. They’d always lived quiet lives in a quiet village. Sure, Sir Mycen had trained them, but they’d never been in any real fights.

“I know you can keep Ram Village safe until we return. I swear we’ll come back alive.”

“You- you don’t think I should come too?”

He looked uncomfortable. “Well, it’s just, it’s dangerous out there, Faye.”

“I… I see. I’ll stay here then. Don’t worry about me!” She pasted on a fake smile, and waved off the last of her childhood friends, too much of a coward to protest. First Celica, and now them. And it turned out even Sir Mycen had up and disappeared. Faye was all alone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When she wakes up, she finds people waiting for her.

“Kiran sent us to help get you warmed up! Things work a bit differently here, so we’ll show you around and then see how rusty your bow skills are.” says a woman with vibrant green hair and skimpy red clothes, winking at her. There’s another archer, also with green hair, tied back in two braids, and a woman in a wedding dress, of all things, carrying a staff. Her hair is also green, and Faye wonders if it’s a coincidence or if this Kiran person just has a weird sense of humor.

Lene, Rebecca, and Lyn. Rebecca is also from a small village, and Faye finds herself fascinated by her life. Lene and Lyn pitch in with stories, too, and compared to Faye’s life, they’re all positivity exotic. She really is the odd one out. But Rebecca is patient when she fumbles her bow, and Lene cheers them on when they falter. Lyn patches them up after each encounter with the odd enemies of this realm, and she thinks maybe it’s okay that she isn’t the best fighter right now.

It’s not as bad as she thought it would be, and after a few days, she finds herself just as useful as the others. Arrows fly from her hands, seeking out weak points in enemy armor, striking them down without fail. Maybe it isn’t so bad here after all. She tries to be positive.

But every night after their fighting ends, the others all seem to have friends from their worlds to return to. Everyone is welcoming, all too used to new faces appearing, but it’s still obvious that she doesn’t quite fit in. The only other person from Zofia is a bratty thirteen-year old named Delthea. Faye has no idea how to speak to her, and she seems to have taken to some of the other children, overjoyed to be here.

“Faye! You should come watch this.” It’s Lyn, her ponytail swaying as she jogs over to her, ever careful of the hem of her dress. “Kiran’s performing a summoning.”

The process is odd to see. Kiran has an unique weapon, unlike anything she’s ever seen before, that they use for the ritual, some kind of modified crossbow, though it looks more round than the ones she remembers. There’s a small gathering of Heroes, eager for a change of pace from the constant fighting that fills their days.

Out of a pillar of light emerges a silhouette, holding what can only be a sword. The light fades, and Faye gasps. She swears the bracelet around her wrist tingles.

“Celica!” Celica’s head snaps to her, and something’s clearly very, very wrong. Tears are falling from her face, and purple fire starts to swirl around her.

“You… Faye? But you- I saw you—” She cuts herself off, flinching, clutching at her head. Her eyes flicker red. “You’re dead! You and Kliff and Mae and—” She screams, grip on her sword tightening. She lashes out, and Kiran stumbles backwards, barely avoiding being sliced in two. Faye is horrified. What in Mila’s name has happened since she left? Did everyone come back, war won, only to find her gone, and assumed her dead? What happened to Kliff? Who’s Mae?

The purple flames flare, repelling the Heroes that were brave enough to lunge at her.

“You’re going to have to send her back, Kiran.” Says Prince Alfonse grimly, sword crossed with Celica’s in an attempt to hold her back.

“You can’t!” protests Faye, alarmed. They have to help her. Something’s wrong with her, they can’t just let her suffer, they need to figure out how to fix her! Lyn touches a hand to Faye’s shoulder, face sympathetic.

“You don’t understand, Faye. Sometimes people arrive here wrong. She may not even really be the Celica you know.”

Lyn turns her away from the circle, grip strong and unyielding as she leads her back to the barracks.

“What do you mean? I know that was her. It’s may have been a while, but she looks the same. You have to let me go back!” She struggles against the healer, and Lyn’s face softens.

“Oh. You don’t know, do you?” Her eyes are sharp, and she nods her head decisively. “I need you to meet someone.”

Bewildered, she accepts her defeat, and Faye goes with her into an unfamiliar room. Sitting there is… Lyn? But in a different outfit, with blue robes and black fingerless gloves.

“Lyn?” The woman looks up, and she seems amused to see them.

“What can I do for you, Lyn?” The Lyn beside her smiles back, but keeps her tone serious.

“Faye only got here recently. She doesn’t know about the,” Lyn waves a hand between her and her doppelganger. “You know. And she just saw someone she thought she knew get summoned and go mad, like what happened with that Robin fellow. Kiran had to send her back.” The other Lyn’s face softens, just like her Lyn’s did, expression the same.

Her explanation is even more outlandish than the idea of being pulled here. Multiple timelines, different version of people, possibly even of herself. She knows Lyn meant well, meant to comfort her with the knowledge that it probably wasn’t the Celica she knew, but it only has the opposite effect.

It seems to just be another nail in the coffin of her lonely life. Even if Alm or Gray or Tobin appear, they might not even know her. She’s never been good at making friends, but it looks like she’ll have to if she’s going to be stuck here. She could always ask Kiran to send her back, since that’s evidently an option, but what life awaits her if she goes back? No, she may as well stay here. At least here she can be useful.

She thanks Lyn, both the Lyns, and bids them goodnight. That night she tosses and turns, brain stuck in the past. She picks at the flowers around her wrist. Usually they bring her memories of happy times, but now they leave her feeling with a sour taste in her mouth. She can’t get Celica’s distressed face out of her head, can’t sleep, and finds herself thinking back to her childhood, back when Celica arrived in Ram Village.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She had been excited at first, ready to not be the only girl in their group. Maybe her and the new girl could team up and tease the boys for once! That’d show Gray and Tobin. But the new girl is quiet and unwilling to socialize with anyone but Alm. She clings to Sir Mycen’s side, face always unhappy. It’s no fun to hang out with her, and instead of gaining a friend, it’s like they’ve lost one, because Alm’s never around anymore.

She complains to her parents, who exchange a troubled look, and they try to lecture her about being more understanding of others. It makes her cringe to think about now, how callous she had been. There had even been a few times when she was mean to Celica, angry that the girl didn’t seem to like her, unused to rejection.

That had changed one fateful day. Alm was nowhere to be found, as usual, and Gray and Tobin were off by themselves, and Kliff was reading a book, and Sir Mycen was busy and so were her parents, so she’s on her own. Which is fine! She doesn’t need any stinky boys. She decides she’s going to wander out of the village, something she’s never done alone.

There’s a meadow full of wildflowers her mother takes her to sometimes, and she likes flowers, so she’s going to try to find it. Miraculously, she does. Proud of her skill, she surveys her land victoriously. The flowers are beautiful, bobbing in the spring breeze, a cheery mix of colors. A crown, she decides, because she’s the queen of this meadow. Humming merrily, she gets to weaving.

She’s interrupted by the sound of muffled sobbing. On the opposite side of the field, right by the trees, is a small figure, someone crying. They must’ve snuck up on her. Concerned, she finished tying her crown together and trots over.

To her surprise, it’s Celica. Celica looks up, startled like a rabbit in the grip of a hawk.

“Oh, uh, it’s you.” she sniffles. “Hey.” Celica’s been cold before, but she’s never seen her all vulnerable, crying like this. She feels kind of bad for insulting her all those times.

“Are you okay?” Faye asks, crouching down beside her. “Should I get Alm?”

Celica starts crying harder. “No! He must hate me now!” she wails.

“You had a fight?” Alm isn’t cruel, but he can be stubborn, and stupid with his words. Celica nods, furiously wiping at her tears. Faye isn’t quite sure what to do now, and they sit in silence. Kliff’s the only one of them who cries regularly, and he always does that lone. Her eyes catch on the flower crown in her hands, and inspiration strikes.

“Well, don’t be sad. Here.” Faye places the crown on her head. “You’re the queen of this meadow now. No crying. You have to, uh, you know, delineate tasks.”

Celica’s tears slow, but she looks unsure. “B-but you made this for yourself. I-I can’t just take it.”

Faye plucks a flower from the ground. “We can make another!” she improvises. “The meadow can just have two queens.”

Celica’s face turns determined, tears stopping, and she grabs a flower of her own, and then pauses, face falling. “I don’t know how to make one, though.” she says miserably.

Faye takes the flower from her, tying it carefully to the one in her hand.

“I’ll teach you.”

Celica’s face lights up, and Faye vows to never be mean to her again.

They return to the village, hand in hand, thick as thieves, finding a worried Sir Mycen and Alm looking for them.

They go to that meadow often, switching to making bracelets and necklaces and rings, or even just picking flowers for vases. It’s the friendship she had longed for when Celica first arrived, and even though sometimes Celica gets quiet and withdraws, she seems happier. She even starts hanging out with Gray, Tobin, and Kliff, and time flies by.

Then Slayde arrives, spouting nonsense about a lost princess, ready to kill them all. They have the practice swords Sir Mycen gave them, because they were playfighting mere minutes earlier, but there’s only six of them, and plenty of soldiers. She pushes Celica behind her, heart hammering.

“Stay back!” She shouts, voice shrill with fear.

“We have to find Sir Mycen,” Alm says, ever the leader. “Someone run. We’ll- we’ll hold them off.” But their legs are shaking. Even Kliff doesn’t have a plan, and Gray and Tobin are shaking, usual bravado gone.

It would be a terrible way to go, surrounded by your dying friends.

But Sir Mycen arrives in the nick of time, single-handedly beating an entire squadron. Her eyes sparkle. She wants to be like him when she grows up. She looks back on her past optimism fondly, a little bitterly.

Everything should’ve been fine after that, but Celica turns up on her doorstep that night, tears in her eyes.

“Sir Mycen says I have to leave and live somewhere else. For a long, long time.” She says, looking down. Alarmed, Faye hugs her, tightly.

“He can’t make you! That guy was just making all that stuff up, right? It’s safe here. Sir Mycen can just beat up anyone who tries anything again.”

Celica wraps her arms around Faye’s neck, and they just stay like for a long moment before Celica pulls away.

“No, he’s… he’s right. I can’t stay here anymore. I leave tomorrow morning. I thought you should know.” Celica turns away, and Faye grabs one of her hands, frowning.

“Do you have to?” She asks, and now she might cry, too.

Celica nods, tries to tug her hand away. Faye won’t let her.

“Let’s go to the meadow.” she declares. “One more time.”

They make bracelets in silence, and when they’re done, Faye looks at her hesitantly.

“You still want to be friends, right? It’ll be hard being the only ruler.”

Celica laughs, a little sadly.

“Of course! I’ll come back, one day.”

Impulse hits her, and Faye gets down on one knee, presenting her bracelet to Celica.

“You have to promise. You’ll come back, and we can get married, so the meadow really will have two queens again.” They’re not as young as they used to be, but she wants to feel childish again. It’s a childish promise to make, when the world is so vast and full of turmoil. But Celica smiles, and slides the bracelet onto her wrist.

“I promise. Here,” and Celica pulls her to her feet, and ties the bracelet she made onto Faye.

“I’ll treasure it forever.” Faye says earnestly, earnest enough and with enough exaggeration in her voice that Celica giggles. But she means it.

The next morning, Celica leaves, as promised, flower bracelet adorning her arm.

Faye’s own bracelet fades and the flowers lose their color, and she nearly cries when it breaks and the petals crumble. Her parents don’t understand, and Gray and Tobin laugh. Alm tells them off, and it’s him that comes up with the idea to ask Kliff about preservation magic.

She makes a new bracelet, choosing the same light pink flowers that the first was made of, and Kliff casts some sort of spell on it, kind or uninterested enough to not say a word.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She picks at her bracelet listlessly. The Celica that had appeared had said Faye had died, in her world. If she knew about it, they had met again. Was that her fate? To reunite with Celica, only to die?

In the morning, she meets up with Lyn again. Kiran has assigned new faces to their team, Lene and Rebecca elsewhere. She throws herself into their battles, trying to distract herself. Every night she attempts to be social, mostly hanging awkwardly beside one of the Lyns. She introduces her to a quiet girl with purple hair, who reminds her faintly of Celica, back in the day. She gets pegasus riding lessons from her, and she competes with Rebecca in archery contests, and day after day she fights and she fights.

She doesn’t deserve the title of Hero, but even she can admit that she’s contributing to the victories of Askr. It’s not such a bad life, and she even finds herself enjoying it, laughing over campfires while trading stories with Florina or snarking on the battlefield beside one of the Lyns. She even warms up to Sharena, unable to resist her charismatic charm and enthusiasm.

Kiran gifts her a new bow when they see how well she handles mages, one that should help enhance her natural resistance to magical damage. It’s a different shape than she’s used to it, and the string sometimes comes loose. She’s fiddling with it late one night when there’s a knock on her door. Visitors don’t often come at this hour, but she gamely swings the door open.

It’s Lyn, the one in blue, and she’s brought someone with her. Faye’s never spoken much about her past, only names in passing, but Lyn must have noticed her habit of fiddling with her bracelet. It’s the only explanation for the sight before her.

It’s Celica, the same age as her, free of any purple fire or glowing eyes. Her face is hesitant, unsure. Faye’s eyes catch on her right arm, because around it is a ring of flowers. Faye’s heart stops in her chest, and her voice wobbles as she speaks.

“Looks like you have to marry me now.” she jests, holding up her matching bracelet. Celica’s face cracks into a grin, and she throws herself into Faye’s arms.

“You really did treasure it forever, huh.” she says, breathless. “I thought you may have forgotten me.” Over Celica’s shoulder, Lyn gives her a thumbs up. She mouths _thank you_ , and Lyn takes her leave.

“I would never!” Faye pulls back, eyes shining. “I have so much to tell you!”

“I’ve missed a lot. Back at home, and here. It’s quite a… strange place.”

“We have plenty of time,” Faye assures her. “Unless… what were you doing, before you were summoned?”

“After Ram Village, Sir Mycen took me to a priory. I’ve been learning about magic there.” she holds up a hand, and fire blossoms in it. “It’s a good life. I’ll have to show you around, when we return.”

The implication in her words makes her heart sing with glee. There’s a place for her in Zofia too, not just here, in a timeless limbo between worlds.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

She pulls Celica into her room, closing the door gently behind her. The night stretches before them, time ripe for reminiscing, and Faye doesn’t stop grinning, even when their words fade and they put their heads down to sleep. For the first time in a long time, she’s looking forward to waking up.

**Author's Note:**

> this was 100% inspired by the cute little flower bracelet Faye wears in her Heroes art, and it spiraled wildly out of hand lol


End file.
